Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My baby boa that I have had for about 2 weeks now ate a week ago on a F/T mouse, then last friday, I tried to feed a live, and he wouldnt take it. I took him to the reptile specialist in my area, and he gave me a pair of fuzzy mice to give to him. He ate both ferociously, and I thought things would be OK. 2 things have happened... First, not related to this feeding, but he has not deficated from the forst time I fed him. Then problem 2 is that he regurgitated both mice. I know I should let him rest a week to replace the stomach acids, but is there anything else I may be missing/ thanks for the help!

Actually, you need to wait a full 14 days before attempting to feed him again. After the 14 days, give him a small meal like a pinky mouse. Wait another 14 days and give him another pinky mouse assuming the first one stayed down. After that, I would resume normal size meals, but maybe reduce feedings to every 10 days or so instead of every week. You can also try soaking him in some warm water. This will serve two purposes. One it will keep him hydrated, since regurging is very tough on a baby boa, and two, it can relieve constipation.

Hope this helps,
Matt Crabe

He may not have had enough time to fully digest his first meal!
Or it is also possible he doesn't have enough heat to help with digestion.
The SAFEST rule of thumb for feeding is to wait until they poop first, before trying again.

I once got in a group of 10 boas and proceeded to set them all up and begin feeding the same way..

well, 1 regurged and 2 others were immediately (1-2 days) pooping what seemed to be regurged food.. in other words, it looked like regurge, but came out poopy-style.. lol

so, turns out those 3 were just a bit different, a bit slower to digest.. ALL OTHER CONDITIONS WERE IDENTICAL!

I started to feed those 3 once over 12 days or so and they began to thrive.. the others continued to eat every week and are also doing great.

I learned this the hard way a while back with another group of 5.
3 of them were eating just as much as the other 2 but NOT growing! I started feeding them TWICE as much and they were STILL not growing !!!
Well, they were not absorbing enough nutrients from their food.. kind of like when someone eats all they want, then goes to the bathroom and throws it up on purpose.

I ended up feeding those 3 every 2 weeks instead of weekly, and they started growing TWICE as fast as their siblings who were eating every week! and within a year or so, they caught up and were the same size!

It definately sounds strange, how feeding one less may help it grow more, but it's all about how they absorb and digest their meals.

If he regurged after only a couple days, you can wait a week, if he regurged after 3-4 days, wait longer.. up to 2 weeks.

Start the feeding on 12-14 days, and if all goes well, you can slowly cut it back until you get to weekly again..
But if you see after 2-3 days what looks almost like regurge without the smell, he's pooping too soon.. slow it down!

Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo - BciJoe
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin